MARQUETTE — Michigan State University Extension officials are concerned about a reduction in funding from Marquette County.

However, the issue stems from the county facing a reduction of its own, officials said.

Liana Pepin, Marquette County 4-H educator with MSU Extension, said the Marquette County Board of Commissioners had to deal with a budget reduction of $455,000 from fiscal year 2020.

Pepin said in an email that during a recent budget meeting, the county board made what she called the “difficult” decision to cut MSUE funding, although MSUE was not the only program to receive cuts.

Erin Carter, director of the MSUE district that covers Marquette, Alger, Luce, Schoolcraft, Mackinac and Chippewa counties, said in an email that the reduction puts extension programming about $13,000 below its base funding amount of $59,562 from the county.

That base amount is needed to have a memorandum of agreement with the county, Pepin said.

“This affects all MSU Extension programming in Marquette County, not just 4-H,” said Pepin, who noted 4-H is the youth-serving arm of MSUE.

Pepin said that over the last several weeks, MSUE has been asking partners and anyone who has benefited from MSUE programs to contact the county board to share their experiences and ask for funding to be restored at least to the base assessment amount.

Pepin said the board agreed to put the issue of funding on the agenda of its Tuesday meeting.

“We are hopeful for a positive outcome,” Pepin said.

Marquette County Administrator Scott Erbisch acknowledged in an email that the county’s budget for fiscal year 2021 is $455,000 less than the previous fiscal year.

“Achieving a 2021 balanced general fund budget while maintaining current service levels was not an easy task,” Erbisch said.

He said achieving a balanced budget included reductions and the use of reserve funds, noting it was difficult to make reductions to programs that also need resources.

Priorities, he said, are state-mandated items and critical county programs.

Erbisch also stressed that annual funding for MSUE, which has been just over $92,000, was not eliminated but instead was reduced to $46,150.

“It is hoped that this is not a permanent reduction,” Erbisch said. “The county has and continues to support MSUE and 4-H. However, there is a lot of fiscal uncertainty due to the pandemic.”

The impacts to revenue as well as financial losses and gains guide the county’s decision-making, he said.

Erbisch noted that 4-H budgets around $38,000 annually in revenue for its programing from the sale of county plat books, with mapping in the plat books developed by the Marquette County Equalization Department.

He said 4-H sells ads for the plat book printing and receives the revenues from the sales of a set number of the plat books. The plat book revenue for programming is in addition to the budgeted $46,150 — or $92,000 when fully funded — for MSUE in 2021. This funding, he pointed out, is not affected by the 2021 general fund reduction.

Carter also pointed out in a telephone interview with The Mining Journal that 4-H does not always sell plat books, nor does it always sell all of them.

In October, Carter penned a letter to the Marquette County Board of Commissioners requesting the full base amount.

“MSU Extension has always enjoyed a positive relationship with the county and the board of commissioners,” Carter wrote. “We were surprised by your action to reduce our budget below the base amount from the 2021 budget. At the same time, we understand your need to balance your budget during trying times, and we are committed to working with you to continue to bring our strong programming to Marquette County.”

Marquette County, she noted, has funded 4-H programming at full capacity in previous years, which afforded the increase in programming in the county.

“Without funding from the county, we cannot continue to invest state and federal funds,” Carter wrote. “Local funds leverage university investment in the county. Without local investment, all MSU Extension programming in the county would cease.”

Carter pointed out that the county’s current investment in MSU Extension is a small portion of the overall county budget — a little more than half of 1%.

“For this small amount, the county’s investment is multiplied three to four times in state and federal dollars,” she said. “These dollars are invested in this community by people who live, work, shop, pay county taxes, have children attending schools, etc.”

Also, employees “housed” in Marquette County are extension educators and MSU campus specialists assigned to Marquette County for various areas of expertise including horticulture, health, Michigan Sea Grant, veterans work, community food systems and others, she said.

Pepin said that despite not meeting in person these days because of the COVID-19 pandemic, 4-H is still active. There are virtual programs — one-time events, short-term series and year-round clubs — happening all the time. She suggested people contact her at deisenro@msu.edu to get information on how to enroll in a year-long club.

Andrew Strohm, who is featured on the Marquette County Michigan 4-H Facebook page, shared how 4-H has impacted his life.

“I am so grateful for the incredible support from my family, my friends and 4-H throughout my life,” Strohm said. “I wouldn’t be who I am today without it.”

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500 ext. 250. Her email is cbleck@miningjournal.net.